Who are the Big Dogs of 2019?
by Steve McGill
With the World Championships not occurring until October this year, the entire outdoor season will be over before the meet even begins, which is something I don’t remember ever happening before. As a result (I assume), the USA Championships have been pushed back to the end of this month, so I figured this would be a good time to take a look at who is shining in the hurdles at this point of the season, who has the best chances to make the US team based on what we’ve seen so far, and which non-Americans are making big noise. So let’s take a look, event by event.
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Men’s 110 Meter High Hurdles
This event seems to be in the midst of a resurgence after some a few uninspiring years. The resurgence is being led by two collegians, both of him just turned professional: Grant Holloway and Daniel Roberts. While these two haven’t revolutionized the event, they have sparked an interest in it (beyond the world of hurdle heads like you and myself) that the event hasn’t seen in quite some time, probably since Liu Xiang and Dayron Robles were at their peak. Rivalries, whether friendly or hostile (and in this case it seems pretty friendly), are always good for the event, and for the sport as a whole. These two young men own the two fastest times of the year so far, when Holloway edged Roberts 12.98 to 13.00 at the NCAA Championships on June 7th. Holloway broke Renaldo Nehemiah’s 40-year-old NCAA record, and Roberts tied it. Wow! That’s smokin! I’m very excited to see what they will do at USA’s, considering that the long collegiate season with so many meets and competing in multiple events each meet can take its toll on the body and the mind. If they stay true to form, they should be a lock to make the team. But this is the hurdles, so nothing is guaranteed.
Holloway (center) and Roberts (right) should be favorites to make the US team in the 110 hurdles.
In the bigger picture, the best hurdlers in the world from recent years are still looking quite imposing. Omar McLeod has had some late-race trouble, but overall he’s looking as strong as ever, and the assumption here is that he’ll work through those troubles well in time for Worlds. His season’s best of 13.12, run in May, indicates that we will see him dip under 13.00 fairly often this year before it’s all said and done.
Probably the most impressive hurdler, outside of Holloway and Roberts, has been Cuban-turned-Spaniard Orlando Ortega. He’s always been one of my favorite hurdlers when it comes to technical efficiency, and he seems to be adding the essential I’m-the-baddest-hurdler-out-here mentality to his technical skills. His 13.05 in Lausanne earlier this month was quite impressive, and he narrowly defeated Roberts in that race.
Meanwhile, Sergey Shubenkov of Russia is looking strong, as is Ronald Levy of Jamaica, and Wenjun Xie of China. Pascal Martinot-Lagarde is looking good in his comeback from injury, so be sure to keep an eye on his progress. As for American hurdlers other than Holloway and Roberts, I would list either Devon Allen, Freddie Crittenden, and Isaiah Moore as being most likely to earn the third spot to make the World Championship team.
Men’s 400 Meter Intermediate Hurdles
Talk about smokin hot! This event is smokin! I’m talking hot hot hot! And you got three guys doing the bulk of the smoking: Rai Benjamin of the USA, Karsten Warholm of Norway, and Abderrhaman Samba of Qatar. I can’t wait to see these three in the World Championship final and to see all of them dip under 47.00, breaking or threatening to break Kevin Young’s 27-year-old world record. Of course, odds are that won’t happen, but the possibility is real. All three are already in the 47-low range, with Benjamin leading the way with his 47.16 at the Prefontaine Classic in late June. Samba’s seasonal best is 47.27, and Warholm is at 47.33. So they’ve each already run a time that would be considered a peak performance for all but a few hurdlers in the history of the event.
Benjamin (left) and Ba (right) are another pair who will most likely be facing off against each other for many years to come, taking the event to new heights.
After these three, however, there’s not really all that much happening. While it’s true that the season is still young and there is still plenty of time for someone else to emerge, the fact is that no one else has broken 48, with the closest being University of South Carolina’s newly converted quarter miler Quincy Hall, who ran 48.48 at NCAAs. If he gets some more races under his belt. That time was very fast when considering he overstrode to maintain his 13-stride pattern at hurdle nine, and then stuttered and 15-stepped hurdle ten before surging off the last hurdle to claim the victory. If he gets his stride pattern together, I can easily see him going under 48 and well into the 47’s.
Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles
Not much really happening here yet, to be honest. This event seems to be one suffering from the fact that the World Championships are so late this year. Among the big names, world record holder Keni Harrison seems to be the only one looking sharp, and even she has yet to put a whole race together. Her 12.43 at Monaco last week ranks her second in the world time-wise, with first being Jamaica’s Janeek Brown, who ran 12.40 to win the NCAA championship in June. Brown was in the Monaco race, but didn’t do so well, so it’s hard to tell if her collegiate success will carry over to international success, but her time definitely puts her in the conversation.
Keni Harrison is looking like the woman to beat in the 100 meter hurdles.
Other big names like Sherika Nelvis, (season’s best 12.66) and Christina Clemons (formerly Christina Manning, season’s best 12.58) have run well, but appear to be still rounding into top form. Sally Pearson has been hurt. Brianna McNeal (formerly Brianna Rollins) is only at 12.71 right now. So, we’ll wait and see what happens in this event, which is typically one of the most competitive nationally and internationally. I don’t expect that to change at this year’s World Champs, although it’s already evident that the majority of big-name competitors aren’t taking the Diamond League meets as seriously as they usually do.
Women’s 400 Meter Hurdles
Like the men’s 400 hurdles, the women’s 400 hurdles is also shaping up to be a one of the most exciting events to watch in the sport. And even though she’s fresh out of one year in college and in her first year as a pro, Sydney McLaughlin is at the top of the list of athletes to look out for. I say this based on her very impressive comeback victory over the great Dalilah Muhammad in Monaco last week, where she sprinted past Muhammad off the last hurdle to claim the win. What made it so impressive was that Muhammad didn’t make any mistakes, didn’t relax too soon or anything like that. McLaughlin just ran her down in the space of 40 meters. It was one of those, whatever I have to do to beat you, that’s what I’m going to do kind of comebacks. It showed that McLaughlin has the will to match the skill.
McLaughlin (right) caught Muhammad (left) this time. What does the future hold for this budding rivalry?
Meanwhile, one loss does not a season make. So there’s no reason to believe that Muhammad won’t come back ready to conquer when the national championships come around in a couple weeks. Part of me is thinking that McLaughlin may simply be a superior athlete. And when you’re running against a superior athlete, there’s really nothing you can do, all else being equal. But that remains to be seen.
A third American to watch out for is Shamier Little, who is the only other hurdler other than McLaughlin and Muhammad to go under 54 thus far this year. Little looked she was going to be a beast coming out of college, but struggled since then, and just now seems to be getting her form back. I could see any three of these women winning USA’s, and winning Worlds. And I haven’t even mentioned defending world champion Kori Carter yet, who hasn’t been looking as impressive thus far this year, but who we all know has the potential to run very fast and beat anybody in this event when she’s at the top of her game.
Two more Americans worth mentioning would be Ashley Spencer and Anna Cockrell. Spencer is tied for the fourth-fastest time in the world this year at 54.11, and Cockrell won NCAA’s with a 55.23. So, we’re looking at six American hurdlers with a legit chance to make the team and to earn a medal at Worlds. Wow.
Internationally, there’s always the Jamaican’s, and there’s always ageless wonder Zuzana Hejnova, who has also already run 54.11 this year, finishing second behind Little at the Diamond League meet in Lausanne. With this much competition, the women’s 400 hurdles should be a thrilling event to watch at USA’s and at Worlds.
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